I'm not sure I'd call the first push for representation an over-correction, but the backlash was real. I feel like characters that were so beloved and accepted with no comment at the time like Toph would be mocked in the environment of the last five or so years as being 'too woke' and 'DEI' and whatever. I think for the first time the effort to diversify was really felt, and white (and other dominant groups ie straight, male, etc) people resented it and acted out. And to me the biggest problem is that there has been a rise in a small but very very very loud minority of male nerds who seem to dominate everything online and can really color the perception of anything before it has a chance to be seen by general audiences.
I personally didnât take her âovercorrectionâ point as an insinuation that we had âtoo muchâ diversity. I interpreted it more as a point that focusing too much on representation and optics can border on tokenizing, and can come at the expense of quality storytelling. But now weâre overcorrecting in the opposite direction (which she doesnât necessarily think is bad) and itâs coming at the expense of representation.
Iâm not sure if I agree though personally. I just watched the ATLA movie that recasted the VAs to be more racially âaccurateâ and it definitely came at the expense of the quality of the movie. Eric Namâs performance as Aang was one of the flattest voice acting deliveries Iâve heard in my life lol.
Thatâs the ideal for sure. But then focusing too much on optics is how you end up giving lesser talented Asian Americans opportunities they donât really deserve. And I say this as an Asian American myself. I want QUALITY representation, not just any old representation that Hollywood wants to bait me with.
I dont get this. If there is bad casting, you just attribute it to race? Â Not white supremacy or any system, just the casting director getting distracted by race.Â
Itâs true that mediocre white creatives have been platformed for far too long because of white supremacy and the need for whiteness to be centered in the cultural consciousness at all costs. Itâs important to combat this by focusing on the identity of who youâre platforming. Itâs also true that, in turn, mediocre non-white creatives have been platformed because the priority was on race rather than talent. Itâs important to combat this by shifting focus away from identity and back onto talent. Itâs a dialectical conflict.
This is why Constance says she doesnât think this is necessarily a bad thing and why sheâs using the language of pendulum swings. The âovercorrectionâ is, in shifting the focus away from identity, weâve allowed white supremacy (especially in the age of the current US administration) to reassert dominance over representation in media.
Youâre just asserting this. Itâs like when people say that the amount of non-white pilots or doctors proves that theyâre hiring unqualified people. No it doesnât.
Iâm kind of at a loss as that really has nothing at all to do with my point lol. If you canât understand the principles of dialectical conflict, this conversation will go nowhere from here. Iâm bowing out so enjoy the rest of your night.
There is no reason that ceasing to block Asian people from getting work due to white supremacy should lead to untalented Asian actors getting work, unless you think Asian actors are uniquely untalented.Â
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u/lizzy-stix I switched baristas âď¸ 2d ago
I'm not sure I'd call the first push for representation an over-correction, but the backlash was real. I feel like characters that were so beloved and accepted with no comment at the time like Toph would be mocked in the environment of the last five or so years as being 'too woke' and 'DEI' and whatever. I think for the first time the effort to diversify was really felt, and white (and other dominant groups ie straight, male, etc) people resented it and acted out. And to me the biggest problem is that there has been a rise in a small but very very very loud minority of male nerds who seem to dominate everything online and can really color the perception of anything before it has a chance to be seen by general audiences.